BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Jordan Moll-Vigrass has always believed blood is blood.
“I don’t think many people understood they were being discriminated against,” he said. “They didn’t grasp that.”
He’s talking about the FDA policy which, put in place during the Aids epidemic, banned sexually active gay or bisexual men from donating blood.
“The policy at the time was an indefinite deferral, meaning if you were a gay or bisexual man, you could never donate blood.”
So, he spearheaded the local group Blood is Blood, and pushed for change.
On Friday, after finding out the FDA is likely to reverse this policy, Moll-Vigrass says he was elated.
“I started to cry. It was so overwhelming. I’ve lost a lot of people on this journey of change,” he said. “One of my biggest supporters was my mom. She passed away in 2019, and so to know that I have her looking down on me is really rewarding.”
The FDA has revised the guideline twice, first from a lifetime ban to a 12-month same-sex sexual contact deferral. Then, in April 2020, when blood supplies were dwindling, a three month sexual contact deferral for gay and bisexual men.
Blood donation centers like the American Red Cross have had a critical need for blood donors in recent years.
Since 2020, the Red Cross says it has worked with various LGBTQ+ community groups to participate in an FDA-funded pilot study, to evaluate potential changes to blood donor eligibility criteria for gay and bisexual men.
The “Advance” study focused on alternatives to the FDA's current donation policy, and also provided data to determine if a donor history questionnaire based on individual risk would be as effective as a time-based SEXUAL deferral in reducing the risk of HIV in the blood supply.
“I will say there’s probably going to be a lot more donors than the Red Cross or any other organization had imagined,” said Moll-Vigrass. “I think our community being able to step up and help in a very simple way will save thousands of lives.”
The Red Cross released a statement on the issue saying:
"The American Red Cross seeks to build an inclusive environment that embraces diversity for all those who engage with our lifesaving mission. As such the Red Cross believes blood donation eligibility should not be determined by methods that are based upon sexual orientation and is committed to working with partners toward achieving this goal."
